Stuch and Bruch is the idea that every fencing technique has a counter and every counter has a technique. Technique and counter are two major components of German swordsmanship and a fair description of my screenwriting adventures and life.

Friday, May 25, 2007

The End is Here

Prepare yourself, people. The tips of my fingers may burn right off as I type these words -- I just wasn't that inspired by At World's End.

Among many flickers of brilliance are Jack Sparrow's preoccupation with size and a cameo by his mum. But for all Jack's prancing and Barbossa's nostril flaring, the film lacks the charm and tempo and adrenaline that I've come to expect.

The cinematography can't compare to the artistic mastery of the second film and many portions actually feel like rough cuts. I'm guessing that editors fell victim to a cruel and merciless taskmaster - the release date.

The story complexities and character nuances that compelled me to watch the first two Pirates of the Caribbean films over and over seem to be missing from this one and with all the side changing and betrayal going on, I frequently felt like I was watching a Homer's Odyssey version of Deal or No Deal.

I was predisposed to love At World's End but basically, my heart didn't flutter. I think I even heard it snore a time or two and for such disloyalty to my favorite writers, I should cut the treacherous thing out and lock it into a chest.

9 comments:

Pirates 2 was SO good. It's hard to write sequels, as the audience already has so many preconcieved notions how established charactes should act. Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot did a GREAT JOB getting as far as they did. No shame in not being able to do it a third time.

Still, look forward to seeing POTC3 with my family this Sunday. My mom is like totally goo-goo ga-ga over Johny Depp, guess she didn't get all the Beattle's hysteria out of her system back in the 60s.

Don't misunderstand. There's no blame to spread because it's not a bad film. It's actually an amazing film comparatively speaking to everything except the other POTC films. How can anything compete with the Kraken?

But I saw AWE in the middle of the night during an emotionally exhausting work week. Need to see it again when I'm fresh and alert and not pouting over the injustices in the world. Ya know, just to be fair...

And then I need to see it again after that to get my best two out of three impressions.

Todd, Don't do anything based on my review. I enjoyed it much more the second time around. I have had the month from hell. Graduation, a son's birthday, career chaos and a nightmarish event in my family so with very little sleep, I'm a poor reviewer right now.

For the record, the music is astonishing. Zimmer continues to absolutely blow me away. There's one track where the strings are so emotional that it's all I can do not to sob out loud while listening to it on my iPod. Yeah, it's that good.

Webs, some of it is certainly a post problem. T&T even said since they did final shoots well into the fall of 2006, there were concerns about needing more time to complete the CG stuff. The films were done partially at the same time but not entirely. The location stuff was done simultaneously and many of the scenes with the primaries due to their schedules but they were under the gun to make the Memorial weekend release. There's one particular scene with Sparrow in Beckett's office that just looks so odd and rough that it surely must have been rushed. And the "big" Calypso scene - I dunno. I still can't understand the dialogue and the CG looks like claymation to me.

Just saw POTC3, I thought it's plot sucked, which supriced me given the fact I liked the previous two. A wedding cerimony in the middle of a raging, pirate-to-pirate shoot-out is to much of a suspension of disbelief for me.

They should have given Johnny Depp more screen time too.

You're right, the music rocked. So did that cute monkey. Me and my cheered each time he was given some screen time.

But then did leave it open for futher installments. So who knows maybe you'll get a call to write the script...

I actually love the wedding. I've heard other people complain about not enough Sparrow time too but I don't see that. I do think though that the film takes itself too seriously this time and it feels heavier than the first two.

Finally got round to seeing POTC3 -I liked this one more than I thought I would, and more than POTC2. I had been warned that it was very long, but it really didn't drag, and though there are some bits I didn't like (multiple Jack Sparrows, the "wedding") it kept me entertained all the way through - and the ending was a neat twist too. Never expected that would happen to Will.

Will there be a 4, 5 and 6? I kind of hope not. I think it would really stretch things too far. But there were enough threads left dangling, so who knows?

I actually love the wedding and anything that is the same, but different. A wedding is so ordinary because everyone does it but a wedding on a ship spinning around a vortex in the middle of a torrential thunderstorm caused by an angry goddess and during a swordfight that's part of a battle between good and evil that could decide the fate of the world forever? That's different.